Photography by: Stephen Elledge

When the sun sets in Austin, you’re likely to find Rose Reyes putting on her classiest pair of cowboy boots and heading for the Broken Spoke, the Continental Club or some other local spot where live music rocks the house. A lifelong music fan, she loves roots, country, classical and all melodious sounds.

So it’s little wonder that Austin, with its nearly 200 live music venues and 1,900 musical acts, is her kind of town – a place that she, as the director of music marketing for the Austin Convention & Visitors Bureau, promotes at every opportunity.

Indeed, most folks agree: Reyes has been instrumental in putting Austin on the music map. And largely thanks to her efforts, the Texas State Capitol can lay claim to the title, “Live Music Capital of the World.”

These days music could well be called Austin’s No. 1 commodity. A $1 billion industry annually, it attracts scores of tourists and spectators, as well as serious music fans, industry reps, artistic legends and eager vocalists, guitarists, accordion players and such who want to make their own special statement.

New kids on the block find the town’s atmosphere especially welcoming – an ideal spot to flourish and pursue originality. The freedom that’s encouraged is a perk that seems to stem from frontier days when bolder was better and following your own vision was what it was all about.

Reyes often mentions this attitude; it’s part of her marketing pitch as she oversees and originates programs for the Austin Music Office. Buoyed by her enthusiasm and a personable nature, she works with music journalists worldwide; assists in bringing conventions to town; is constantly on-the-go to conferences on music-related issues; books music for City Council meetings; and partners with community organizations, clubs and other businesses to strengthen the music community.

And that’s just for starters!

One of her major undertakings each year is a CD – a compilation of music that’s making her city famous. The CD is in its 10th year of production. She has been producing it for five years. Never once has an artist’s work been repeated. “It just goes to show you what a great choice and what diversity we have here,” she declares.

This year’s disc, released in late February, comes complete with a guide on how to navigate the music scene and locate both a great restaurant and your favorite sound. The whole package costs $12.99, and if you want to check it out, you can pick it up at the Austin Visitors Center or Waterloo Records, or you can order it online at www.austintexas.org.

“The CD is a real labor of love,” Reyes says. But producing it, along with doing the rest of the things she’s responsible for, does mean her days at the office are long. Then there are the nights.

“I don’t go out every night,” she says with a laugh, “but I’m out there a lot visiting different venues and keeping track of what’s going on. Each night is a discovery.”

It’s an important part of her job to be up on what’s happening and pinpoint the acts that are hot or could soon be, Reyes goes on to explain. But, hey, who’s to mind the demands and/or the late hours?

It’s so enjoyable to be hearing good music; such a great opportunity to see young acts develop into polished performers; and so cool to maybe take a turn around the dance floor in her new two-toned, hand-tooled cowboy boots (she got ‘em for Christmas). Reyes is the first to admit that she’s a lucky lady; few are fortunate enough to have a job that is so much fun.

How did Reyes land in this perfect position in an ideal city where her talents could bloom?

“Just sort of happened,” she reflects. “Maybe the natural outcome of childhood influences. I was born in Edinburg … grew up in South Texas and music was always around our family – you know, quinceañeras, weddings, festivals … all a part of my upbringing. I have always found music so inspirational – the stories artists tell with their songs. So anyway, I guess those feelings drew me to music.”

She didn’t plan on it as a career at first. At Texas State University, her courses were primarily in marketing and political science. As for any desire to appear on stage, there was absolutely none. From the time she started getting music-related jobs, her whole focus was behind the scenes. She sees her role as promoting others and helping them showcase their talents.

Kat Edmonson, a popular chanteuse on the live-music scene, recalls meeting Reyes in person for the first time in a side room at City Hall; the jazz singer was waiting to receive a certificate from the mayor officially declaring Kat Edmonson Day. But the communication between Edmonson and Reyes had actually started much earlier when Reyes hired Edmonson “out of the blue” to represent the City of Austin at a Convention & Visitors Bureau meeting in Washington, D.C.

“Apparently she had heard me singing at Eddie V’s one night and really took to my music,” Edmonson recalls. “It was her recognition of me, I believe, that led to my official acknowledgement from the city, and for the last three years, she has been an invaluable player in the growth of my career.”

Edmonson credits Reyes with always giving council when asked for it, lending a hand whenever she can and introducing artists to people in the business.

“Rose is great at putting people together and making things happen,” the singer explains, noting that it’s a remarkable gift.

Blues master Seth Walker is equally effusive in his praise. He calls Reyes “the cornerstone of the Austin music scene,” adding that her work has brought national attention to the city and strikes a real personal chord with him because she has helped him get numerous high-profile performance opportunities.

But it isn’t just individual musicians and groups that Reyes assists.

“Her love and enthusiasm for the Austin scene is the real thing,” declares Mike Shea, executive director of South by Southwest (SXSW), the big music festival that brings hundreds – better make that thousands – to town when it’s spring break time in March. (Reyes was gearing up for SXSW and the influx of music journalists when interviewed for this article.)

Many other festivals also dot the calendar nowadays, including the Pachanga Latino Music Festival and the new Fun Fun Fun Fest. In fact, Reyes sees no end to such tourist magnets, and is enthusiastic about the attention, media coverage and revenue they will generate in Austin, building on a musical tradition that started decades ago.

Long before Sixth Street was a hub and the Warehouse District and Red River were popular hangouts, cowhands were strumming their guitars and making up lonesome love songs by the campfire at night. Music was both spiritual solace and salve for bone-weary bodies in rough, tough frontier times.

As modernization marched forward, Austin grew from a frontier town into a bustling metropolis. Blues, jazz, rock, roots, torch singers, folk singers, country classics and symphonic sounds started providing a musical smorgasbord, and the names that have gone up in lights are legendary: B. B. King, Jimmy Vaughan, W. C. Clark, Janis Joplin, Bob Wills, Willie Nelson and many more.

Close your eyes to today’s busy super highways, and you can almost imagine the old watering holes and stompin’ grounds where country ballads were belted out and couples danced until dawn.

But don’t get the idea that Austin and country are synonymous. Country is Nashville’s singular sound – Nashville’s claim to fame. What Austin has, according to Reyes, is a whole lot more.

“What we have here is country, of course, but also an eclectic and real diverse mixture,” Reyes emphasizes. “Then, too, I’d say Nashville is more about the business infrastructure, while we’re more concerned with the artistic side and about being a performer’s town. I think people started to be aware of this difference when Austin City Limits started back in 1976, showcasing so many different acts … and we’ve gone on from there.”

Reyes arrived in Austin in 1984, eventually got a job with the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (1988) and later joined the Texas Department of Commerce (1991). When she arrived at Texas Folklife Resources in 1992, she discovered her calling while working with roots music masters across the state and producing events celebrating Lone Star history and heritage.

In addition, she represented and managed Texas singer/songwriter Tish Hinojosa and assisted with various arts projects both on a consulting basis and as a board member of civic and community groups.

To list all her community and philanthropic activities would take pages. Suffice it to say that her influence has been felt from City Hall to the dance hall, and now is a guiding force with the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians (HAAM), where she’s chairing a corporate battle of the bands charity event.

Along with all this, Reyes manages to set aside time for a healthy home life and to be a dedicated mother of three: Noel, 25; Sam, 14; and Carmen, 12. All are into the Austin music scene. Noel is an enthusiastic spectator; Sam and Carmen play guitar; and Carmen is a budding songwriter.

Will Reyes’ youngest offshoots be Austin’s hottest new musicians in the years to come? Well, who knows in this old world of ours that is so full of surprises? But if that happens, one thing’s for sure: They’ll already have a topnotch manager/promoter in the family by the name of mom.

For more information about the Austin music scene, visit www.austintexas.org.